Brandon Phillips in not in Saturday’s lineup. Phillips has played in every game this season, so it’s just a scheduled off-day. Cesar Izturis will start at second base Saturday against the Pirates. (Rotoworld)

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals “aren’t going to trade outfield prospect Oscar Taveras to Texas” for Jurickson Profar. Swapping the top prospects would make some sense for each organization because the Cardinals need a shortstop and the Rangers could soon use a power-hitting outfielder. But there’s no momentum toward a deal at this time. We can’t say for certain whether the Rangers and Cardinals have even had a discussion about it. (Rotoworld)

Zack Cozart went 3-for-5 with a double and a solo home run in the Reds’ loss to the Pirates on Saturday. The double and home run accounted for one half of the Reds’ hits off opposing starter Jeff Locke. The three hits on the night were greater than his hit total from April 6 through April 12. Despite the cold streak, manager Dusty Baker had him hitting second Saturday with Brandon Phillips (personal) out. (Rotowire)

Cubs placed RHP Kyuji Fujikawa on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right forearm. With Fujikawa sidelined, the Cubs will go with a closer by committee, with Carlos Marmol still not expected to be in the mix. James Russell and Shawn Camp should see the majority of save opportunities based on game situations. It’s not clear how long Fujikawa has been pitching through the injury, but he may have aggravated it after giving up a blown save in Friday’s win over the Giants. (Rotoworld)

Giants outfielder Hunter Pence said one of his chief goals during the past offseason was to gain speed in order to help his defense and effectiveness on the basepaths. To help accomplish his goal, Pence switched to lifting lighter weights among other exercises which has resulted in his ability to cover more ground in the outfield. “I worked on it, put the effort in and I feel like it’s paid off,” the 30-year-old told MLB.com. “Stuff I never did before. Instead of squatting 400 pounds.” Pence has also swiped two bases in his first 12 games after recording a combined five steals in 160 games between Philadelphia and San Francisco last year. (CBS Sports)

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said that Ryan Braun‘s neck is “still bothering him some.” Braun has played the last four games after missing three contests with a neck ailment, but he’s gone 0-for-7 while striking out six times over the last two days against the Cardinals. “(Braun’s) neck is still bothering him some,” Roenicke said. “He’s not 100%. You can see some of his swings aren’t his usual self.” At this point, it doesn’t appear that the disabled list is under consideration for the outfielder, but things might be different if the Brewers weren’t already so undermanned. (Rotoworld)

Ted Lilly’s (shoulder) spot on the Dodgers is in question after the left-hander refused to make any more minor league rehab appearances, the Dodgers’ official site reports. Chris Capuano has been named the replacement for the injured Zack Greinke (collarbone) in the rotation. Lilly thinks he’s good to go while the Dodgers hope to stash him in Triple-A a little while longer. It seems likely that Lilly will return as a reliever until some other team offers a deal the Dodgers can accept. (Rotowire)